Lewis Dot Symbols

Valence electrons of an atom are better represented with Lewis dot symbols. From the
previous module, the number of valence electrons of a main block element is usually equivalent to its
group number. For instance, Carbon is a Group 4(a) element, thus it has 4 valence electrons. The
number of valence electrons of Fluorine is 7 because it is in Group7(a). Magnesium has 2 valence
electrons because it belongs to Group2(a).

Lewis dot symbol is very useful when learning about chemical bonding, and chemical reactions.
It consists of the symbol of an element and one dot for each valence electron in an atom of the
element. The dots are placed on the four sides of the symbol—top, bottom, left, and right—and each
side can accommodate up to two electrons. The choice on which sides to place two electrons rather one
electron is arbitrary since all four sides are equivalent. It is recommended that we spread out the dots
as much as possible. In general, we cannot write simple Lewis dot symbols for the transition metals,
lanthanides, and actinides because they all have incompletely filled inner shells.

Figure 1. Lewis dot symbols of some main block elements

The Octet Rule and Bond Formations

The octet rule refers to the tendency of atoms to gain, lose or share electrons to have eight
electrons in the valence shell or attain the same number of electrons as the noble gas nearest to them
in the periodic table. Noble gases are known as stable elements as evidenced by their general lack of
reactivity. All the noble gases except Helium have eight valence electrons, that is why many atoms
undergoing reactions end up with eight valence electrons.

Octet rules does not generally apply to the d or f electrons. Only the s and p electrons are
involved in the octet rule, making it useful for the main group elements (elements not in the transition
metal or inner-transition metal blocks). Main group elements have an octet which corresponds to an
electron configuration ending with s2p6. However, there are some exceptions to the octet rule: boron
and aluminum readily form compounds in which they have six valence electrons, rather than the usual
eight predicted by the octet rule. Sulfur, phosphorus, silicon, and chlorine are common examples of
elements that form an expanded octet or form compounds in which they have more than 8 valence
electrons. Moreover, in some cases, having an odd number of electrons in a molecule guarantees that it
does not follow the octet rule

Example 1: Sodium and Chlorine

The sodium cation has 1 valence electron while chlorine anion has 7 valence electrons. Thus chlorine
can readily accept 1 electron lose by sodium to attain Octet

Figure 2. Ionic bond formation of sodium chloride

Notice in our example 2 that there are 2 Aluminum cations each having +3 charged due to losing 3
valence electrons which gives a total of +6. And there are 3 Oxygen anions each one having -2
charged after gaining/accepting electrons lose from Aluminum atoms which gives a total of -6. Thus
stability of these ions is achieved together as they form a molecule, and typically a molecule has zero
charge. Hence we can say that for every 1 molecule of Al2 O 3 it is consist of 2 atoms of
Aluminum and 3 atoms of Oxygen.

Other technique is by using Aluminum and Oxygen’s Valence or Net Charge after losing or gaining
electron; hence,

In covalently bonded atoms, sharing of electrons is being exhibited by all atoms involved to satisfy the
octet rule. For example, two hydrogens share each of their valence electron with each other to have
two electrons in their valence shells through a single bond. As a result, each hydrogen atom achieves
an electron configuration as helium, the nearest noble gas which has only 2 valence electrons.

Figure 3. Covalent bond formation of H 2

Several atoms form multiple bonds to satisfy the octet. If two atoms share two pairs of electrons, the
covalent bond is called a double bond. This type of bond is much stronger and shorter than single
bonds. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the compounds where double bonds are found.

Figure 4. Electron sharing of CO 2 through double bonds

A triple bond arises when two atoms share three pairs of electrons, as in the nitrogen molecule (N 2).
This type of bond is much stronger and shorter than single and double bonds.

Figure 5. Electron sharing of N 2 through a triple bond

Lewis structures are diagrams that show the bonding between atoms of a molecule, and the
unbonded electrons that may exist in the molecule. A Lewis structure can be drawn for any covalently-
bonded molecule. Lines are drawn between electrons that are bonded to one another. Excess electrons
that are not bonded or lone pairs are represented as pair of dots and are placed next to the atoms on
which they reside. According to Brown, these procedures should be followed when writing Lewis
structures:

The following examples illustrates how to draw Lewis structures. The steps in the method are described
in the example.

−¿ ¿
Example 1. Diagram the Lewis structure of chlorate ion, ClO3 .

Step 1: Sum the valence electrons supplied by all the atoms in the structure. Use the periodic
table to help you determine the number of valence electrons in each atom.
 For an anion, add one electron to the total for each negative charge.
 For a cation, subtract one electron from the total for each positive charge.

Step 2: Determine the number of electrons that would be required to give two electrons to each atom
individually and eight electrons to each of the other atoms individually. Since there are no H atoms in
−¿ ¿
the ClO3 ion,
−¿¿
num. e for individual atoms = 2 (num. H atoms) + 8(num. other atoms)

Step 3: The number obtained in step 2 minus the number obtained in step 1 is the number of electrons
that must be shared in the final structure:
−¿¿ −¿¿ −¿¿
num. bonding e = (num. e for individual atoms) - (total num. e )

Step 4: One-half the number of bonding electrons (from step 3) is the number of electron pairs used in
the bonding of the final structure:
−¿¿
num.e pair bonds = ¿¿

Step 5: Write the symbols for the atoms present in the structure, arranging them in the way that they
are found in the structure. Indicate covalent electron-pair bonds by a line written between the symbols.
Indicate one electron-pair bond between each pair of symbols, then use any remaining from the
number calculated in step 4 to make multiple bonds (note that if the structure contains H atoms, each
H atom is limited to one bond)

Step 6: The total number of electrons (step 1) minus the number of bonding electrons (step 3) is the
number of unshared electrons. Complete the electron octet of each atom (other than the H atoms) by
adding dots to represent unshared electrons:
Example 2: Diagram the Lewis structure of phosphorus trichloride or PCl3